Woman who writes stuff for a living.
Sometimes good, sometimes bad, but never unamusing.
There are two voices in my head, one that believes that every human emotion can be described in a meme, and the other one that believes that emotions are the most vivacious in written form. This is how I go about every brief, asking myself this: if it were a meme, how would it look? If it were words, how would they make you feel?
I'm inspired by nostalgia for a fun time, when ads brought families together, made communities feel seen and brought the world to a halt with humour.
Virgin Active
Pitch
Insight:
We've convinced ourselves that fitness has a finish line. A number on the scale, a time on the clock, a body in the mirror. But functional training exposes that lie.
Thing is, the body doesn't care about your PB. It cares about whether you can catch your kid before they hit the ground. Whether you can sprint for the last train. Whether you can take a hit (literally or figuratively) and get back up with dignity.
Functional training doesn't build a better-looking body. It builds a better-working human.
And that's a completely different promise. One that doesn't live in the gym, but in the moment your training shows up, uninvited.
Introducing:
Functionally Fit (Originally and more fondly known as Fit For Life.)
My Role: Concept & Copy
Creative Director: Jo Clarke, Antoinotte Johnson
ECD: Coenie Grebe
OOH
Unpacking The Message
Social
We'd use real-life "Virgin Active" people and their stories of being functionally fit... or rather Fit for life.
The Delivery Man
We see a delivery man walking on the road. He’s leaving a box at someone’s front door when a wild and rabid looking dog appears in the frame and starts wildly barking at him. The delivery man starts running across the road, dodging the dog at high speed. We see him squat and jump onto an electrical box, squat again and jump over an electric fence. While he’s mid-air, the camera pauses on his face.
A title pops up:
Functionally Trained
Virgin Active lock-up appears on screen.
The Employee At The Bar
Staff Party We open on a dimly lit bar where a room full of co-workers is enjoying an office party. They’re excitedly huddled up in a circle, chanting: Staff: “21, 22, 23,” The camera zooms in between their bodies, and we see a woman dressed in a smart pencil skirt and white blouse on the floor, with her heels next to her, doing one - armed push-ups in the middle of the circle. The camera zooms into her face, the crowd keeps chanting: Staff: “26, 27, 28..” She goes lower, grunting and gritting her teeth. The camera freezes on her face.
A title pops up:
Functionally Trained.
Virgin Active lock-up appears on screen.